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It’s hard for a car like the Kia Soul to be taken seriously. After all, the hatchback is constantly referred to as the “hamster car,” and the fact that it’s available with wacky features such as color-changing speakers doesn’t help it much, either. Because the Soul couldn’t keep party rockin’ its way through another generation, the Korean automaker decided to clean up the second-gen’s image, and what better way to do that in a speedy fashion than to send it away to boot camp.

Just by looking at it, it’s obvious the new Soul is more mature. While the first-gen car appeared cartoonish with its tall and upright stance, the new 2014 Soul looks more aggressive, with squared off shoulders and round fender flares giving it a bulldog-like stance. If you’re thinking it looks familiar, that’s because it’s stolen several styling cues from the Track’str concept, such as its large trapezoidal lower air intake and tweaked tiger nose grille. While it’s still unmistakably a Soul from the front, the rear end is significantly different — and better. The enlarged tailgate is defined by black glass that transitions smoothly into gloss black trim that runs around the back end and surrounds the larger LED taillights, giving it an upscale appearance overall.

It gets even better inside. Since the 2014 Soul’s waist was widened by 0.6 inches, and its wheelbase extended by 0.8 inches, room for heads, legs, and shoulders grew slightly, making for a truly comfortable road trip up to Mammoth Lakes, Calif. Cargo space also grew half a cubic foot to 24.2 cu ft., but with the seats folded down, the Soul’s 61.3 cu-ft. was just the right amount of space to squeeze in three snowboards and lots of luggage. While the cabin’s ample room made for an enjoyable drive, so did its peaceful environment. Kia says it increased NVH materials in the door cavities to reduce wind and road noise, while an isolation pad and layered carpet were added to further reduce interior noise levels by three decibels. Those three decibels made a world of a difference, as exterior noise was kept to a minimum throughout the drive.

After a weekend of getting our first rides in of the season, we decided to stop along many points of interest along the scenic 395 highway, but getting in and out at each stop was quick and painless since step-in height dropped 0.2 inches, allowing for easy entry and exit. But the Soul’s most attractive attribute is that massive panoramic sunroof, which not only created an airy effect inside, but also provided an incredible view of the massive Eastern Sierra Mountains that are adjacent to the highway.

The sunroof is just one of the many premium features you can get in the Soul. Standard features found in the second-tier + model include Bluetooth connectivity, tilt and telescoping steering wheel, and steering-wheel-mounted controls, but our tester was equipped with a $1400 audio package that adds automatic climate control, an 8-inch screen with navigation, and color changing speakers, in addition to the $3000 Primo Package that threw in fog lights, the panoramic sunroof, push-button start, heated/cool front seats, heated rear seats, and a rear view camera, bringing the grand total to $24,010. Equipped with $5100 worth of options, we also had the top-trim in for testing, which was virtually the same as the + except for extra pizzazz including bigger and shinier wheels, leather seats, LED light strips, and a power driver’s seat.

Both are powered by a 2.0-liter I-4 which now utilizes gas direct injection technology, serving up 164 hp and 151 lb-ft. While those horses certainly provide a good amount of pep, power fell flat midrange, especially uphill when the 2.0-liter mill would groan in pain. Power is sent to the front wheels via a six-speed automatic transmission, which glided its way through the gears unobtrusively. While it’s still no track star, ride has vastly improved over its predecessor, and it proved it got its act together in our battery of tests. The previous car went from 0-60 mph in 9.6 seconds, while the new Soul got there in 8.4 seconds. As for the quarter-mile, the old Soul reached it in 17.3 at 79.2 mph, while the 2014 Soul Exclaim got there much faster in 16.4 seconds at 85.1 mph — a hair faster than the Plus. It’s no surprise then, that numbers have improved across the board: braking from 60-0 mph decreased more than 10 ft (126 ft versus 114 ft), while the Soul completed the figure-eight 0.50 seconds quicker at a higher average g.

EPA rated at 23/31 mpg city/highway, fuel economy isn’t that great, and it’d be hard to achieve those numbers in real world driving. On the way up to Mammoth, I averaged 21.9 mpg, but I’ll admit that wasn’t most my efficient driving. On the way back home, I averaged 29.7 mpg driving 74 mph with cruise control on, which is a bit closer to its ratings. Driving 65 mph probably would’ve yielded the best results, but considering the speed limit was 70 mph on most of the 395, that wasn’t going to happen.

All in all, the Kia Soul has gone from a potential burnout to a well-trained little Soul-dier. With a cleaned-up exterior, tons of available premium features, and extensively improved ride, the Soul is even more ready to do battle.

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2014 Kia Soul News and Reviews

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